ICE Will Begin Targeting Companies That Hire Undocumented Workers

Last Sunday, in a television interview, Todd M. Lyons, currently in charge of ICE, said that ICE will now begin a policy against companies that employ immigrants and will not focus solely on detaining immigrants.

Supposedly, they will focus on US companies and businesses that exploit workers. He did not say how the process will work, but in recent weeks we have seen more workplace raids in several states, such as California and Florida. We have not yet seen this type of raid in Michigan, at least not recently, although in past decades we saw massive raids on cattle and turkey slaughterhouses.

This offensive policy will surely have a major impact, although we do not know exactly how and when it will begin. No details have been provided yet; for now, we have only seen attacks against immigrants in Michigan and elsewhere.

The ICE official also said in his interview that they will continue to arrest people who are in the country illegally, regardless of whether they have been convicted of criminal offenses or are simply in the country without authorization. In his words, “people who are in the country illegally will be detained.” With regard to business owners, we do not know if they will face criminal or civil charges. Fines may be imposed on companies, especially large ones or those that employ many immigrants.

We may have more information on this in the coming days, but it is something that business owners should be aware of because, according to Trump, they will be targeted along with immigrants.

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TWO PRO-IMMIGRANT ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN GRAND RAPIDS FOR DEFENDING IMMIGRANTS

On Tuesday morning, near the immigration office on Ottawa Street, two White women who are pro-immigrant and pro-human rights activists were arrested by Grand Rapids local police while defending immigrants against ICE raids and arrests. The two women are religious and were supporting immigrants with the Rapid Response program because they believe in justice. According to police charges, they are being accused of interfering with the work of ICE agents, although many witnesses say this is not true. According to the police, the women had parked their cars in a way that made it difficult for immigration vehicles to pass, so they called the Grand Rapids local police, although according to Grand Rapids policy, local police are not supposed to cooperate with immigration agents. However, in this case, because there was allegedly a violation of local traffic law, they showed up and, after a confrontation with the women and other activists, arrested them and took them into custody.

The two women were released after posting bail and face misdemeanor charges in Grand Rapids city court, which they plan to vigorously defend.

It is unfortunate that instead of supporting immigrants and following their policy and commitment not to collaborate with immigration and the Department of Homeland Security, the local police ended up arresting activists who were supporting immigrants and were not doing anything violent against the officers.

We hope that the community will defend and support these brave women who are trying to do the right thing by defending their immigrant neighbors. In the coming days, a committee will be formed to support them, and we will have more information later.

On the one hand, it is sad to see the behavior of the police, but on the other hand, it is good to see the commitment of white Americans who defend the human rights of immigrants. Yes, we can!